Stress is a killer. \u00a0There are numerous studies I could point to that show this statement to be absolutely true, but this post is not about stress. \u00a0It is about one way to try to deal with it, so that you are not impacting those around you.<\/p>\n
Today, especially this evening, has been a really rough day. \u00a0I am feeling the mounting pressures of not having time to get done all that I need to do, as well as being pulled away from my family time to take care of too many things. \u00a0As a consultant, I am often at the mercy of my customer base and their timing to get their network jobs done. \u00a0As a trainer, I am working to get class locations situated and get the material ready for the next upcoming class. \u00a0Add to that the need (and desire) to spend time with my family, especially before I’ll be leaving for a week to go to training, and I can feel my stress level go up a few notches.<\/p>\n
I have, for most of my life, dealt pretty well with these types of stresses. \u00a0I noticed today, though, that I have been a pretty grumpy guy. \u00a0I have been short with my wife and kids as well as my customers on the phone. \u00a0The thing about stress, you see, is it steals your peace and joy. \u00a0These 2 things are given by God, so I decided to go searching for HIS answer to stress. \u00a0Here are a few verses that I found:<\/p>\n
John 14:27 reads, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. \u00a0Not as the world gives do I give to you. \u00a0Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.<\/strong><\/span><\/em>” \u00a0This one is my first stop, because it is one that I quote to myself often. \u00a0By allowing the stresses of this world overrun my thinking, I am essentially laying aside what Jesus himself offers to me. \u00a0So, the first step in removing the stress factor in my life is to recognize that Jesus has already given this gift of peace. \u00a0I just need to keep looking to Him and I will be able to get through these situations. \u00a0I know that this is, at times, easier said than done, but it is an important point. \u00a0By permitting the stresses of this world to take the peace that Jesus gives, I am essentially allowing Satan to be more powerful than Jesus in my life. \u00a0I must take the time to speak with Him and allow him to, once again, shower me with the peace that is already mine through Him. \u00a0THANK YOU JESUS!<\/p>\n The next verse I found is even more direct in teaching me the source of the stress, or at least the source of why it impacts me so harshly. \u00a0Romans 8:6 reads, “The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.<\/span><\/em><\/strong>” \u00a0SO, what God is telling me here is that if I lose my focus on HIM and focus on the flesh (that’s bible-speak for “the world and it’s worries”), then I will not have “life and peace”. \u00a0What happened to me today was that I didn’t spend enough energy with my mind in the right place. \u00a0I was SO focused on the things I had to do that I forgot my TRUE purpose in life. \u00a0You see, we were created to worship God. \u00a0It is essential to our well-being that we do so. \u00a0In forgetting to remember the one who gives life, we lose the peace that He gives. \u00a0THANK YOU JESUS!! By bringing this verse to my mind, you have reminded me that I must continue to be vigilant in seeking YOU.<\/p>\n Philippians 4:6-7 reads, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. \u00a0And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.<\/strong><\/em><\/span>” \u00a0This is both a command and a promise. \u00a0First, we are commanded to not be anxious. \u00a0That term is translated as “worry” in some translations. \u00a0In the King James it reads, “Be careful for nothing;”. \u00a0By assuming the responsibility of making all the things I need to do work out, I am assuming the weight of success or failure as well. \u00a0The bible teaches that we should bring these things to God and let HIM “worry” about them and replace OUR worry\/stress with His peace, which passes understanding. \u00a0That is the promise. \u00a0It is a wonderful witness to just how good God is for people to see us, as Christians (HIS CHILDREN), living in the same world everyone else lives in, and “somehow” not be impacted in the same negative way as those who do not know Him. \u00a0While it is impossible for me to understand how God accomplishes this peace, it is entirely unfathomable to those who do not know God. \u00a0It is something that must be experienced to even recognize it. \u00a0When I am overburdened, as I was today, I really notice that this peace is missing. \u00a0THANK YOU JESUS!!<\/p>\n Finally, there is 1 Peter 5:7, which reads, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.<\/strong><\/em><\/span>” \u00a0God does not want us to be stressed. \u00a0He sent his son, Jesus, to the earth to take all of that away. \u00a0Jesus WILLINGLY suffered and died for my sin. \u00a0“Wait,” you may be thinking. \u00a0“Is being stressed a sin?” \u00a0I believe that there are enough verses that carry the same message as Philippians 4 that command us to “not be anxious” to support the idea that our worry is a sin. \u00a0It displays a specific lack of faith on our part when we do that. \u00a0Worry and stress are tools of Satan. \u00a0We should pay heed to Romans 12:2. \u00a0This verse says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.<\/strong><\/em><\/span>” \u00a0Again, this is a command of God. \u00a0By excessive worry, we are living as those who do not know God live. \u00a0We are taking on the responsibilities that belong to God. \u00a0It’s no wonder we are stressed! \u00a0THANK YOU JESUS!!<\/p>\n I believe that the real key to properly handling stresses that we face is to continually focus on Jesus. \u00a0We must allow our hearts to seek HIS strength and power. \u00a0If we can do that one thing, we can sing, along with David THIS song (Psalm 103:1-5):<\/p>\n 1 Praise the Lord, my soul;<\/strong><\/em><\/span> Praise to Jesus the Christ! \u00a0Instead of being the “best stressed”, God wants to give us the “best rest”! \u00a0THANK YOU JESUS!! \u00a0All verses quoted are New International Version.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Stress is a killer. \u00a0There are numerous studies I could point to that show this statement to be absolutely true, but this post is not about stress. \u00a0It is about one way to try to deal with it, so that you are not impacting those around you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-personal"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Mji6-f","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/musings.butchevans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/musings.butchevans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/musings.butchevans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/musings.butchevans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/musings.butchevans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/musings.butchevans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17,"href":"http:\/\/musings.butchevans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15\/revisions\/17"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/musings.butchevans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/musings.butchevans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/musings.butchevans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n all my inmost being, praise his holy name. <\/strong><\/em><\/span>
\n2 Praise the Lord, my soul, <\/strong><\/em><\/span>
\n and forget not all his benefits\u2014<\/strong><\/em><\/span>
\n3 who forgives all your sins<\/strong><\/em><\/span>
\n and heals all your diseases,<\/strong><\/em><\/span>
\n4 who redeems your life from the pit<\/strong><\/em><\/span>
\n and crowns you with love and compassion,<\/strong><\/em><\/span>
\n5 who satisfies your desires with good things<\/strong><\/em><\/span>
\n so that your youth is renewed like the eagle\u2019s.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n